Easiest way to migrate Openzwave to ZWave-JS-UI

[Maciek90]

Always try with the latest Domoticz beta version first. A lot has been changed over time.

It didn't help

If that still does not work, please create an issue on Github and follow this guide to report the config topic+payload

I will try

[tomekolo]

Just want to express my opinion. Abandoning support for OZW (not matter if it is maintained or not) is PITA for so many of us.

I've rejected to update my instance of Domoticz for years now just to not be forced to go through this whole struggle of migrating to z-wave JS. I have multiple devices, all working like a charm.

Now since Tado changed their API I am forced to update Domoticz to the latest Beta which I know will f*** up my Z-Wave configuration.

And the tutorial does not even mention the sequence - shall I first update Domoticz and then install z-wave JS or to first configure this extra SW and then perform Domoticz update.

Aaaargh...

I may as well migrate to HA if I am about to spend hours to get the stuff working again...

[jvdz]

Just want to express my opinion. Abandoning support for OZW (not matter if it is maintained or not) is PITA for so many of us.

Let's see how this pans out: An post with a good opinion or simply a "I need to vent" post.

I've rejected to update my instance of Domoticz for years now just to not be forced to go through this whole struggle of migrating to z-wave JS. I have multiple devices, all working like a charm.

Now since Tado changed their API I am forced to update Domoticz to the latest Beta which I know will f*** up my Z-Wave configuration.

Are you sure that OpenZwave isn't supported any more, or is this an assumption? I am currently running 2024.7 with OpenZwave support just fine. OpenZwave was put back in since so many are still using it. I haven't tested the latest Beta in my production environment, but loaded the latest Beta in a test Docker environment and see that Hardware OpenZwave is still there:

Schermafbeelding 2025-04-13 155703.png (166.44 KiB) Viewed 5897 times

And the tutorial does not even mention the sequence - shall I first update Domoticz and then install z-wave JS or to first configure this extra SW and then perform Domoticz update.
Aaaargh...

So what about you stop crying, and just start the conversion and while you are at it fix the Wiki? ... or are you here only to moan and be spoon-fed?
I would start with getting ZwaveJS working first, as that allows you to stay with your current Domoticz installation while you get it up and running. You will have to disable the OpenZwave hardware while running the new ZWaveJS setup as only one software can use the Serial port for the ZWAVE usb dongle.

I may as well migrate to HA if I am about to spend hours to get the stuff working again...

These type of remarks aren't going to motivate anybody willing to help you out.

Conclusion: Great first "Contribution to this forum!", but I have tried between all the smart remarks I've made to also give you some real info you can check.

[tomekolo]

Bruh, if the Wiki says

Domoticz version Stable 2024.2 is the last version with OpenZwave (OZW) integration.

then i'm not even trying to mess up my perfectly running system. Great that @gizmocuz generously changed his mind in the meantime.

Great to see you running stuff in Docker and having the capability to check things right away. I instead am just a regular guy, having Domoticz running directly on RPi and Raspbian for years now. Stopped updating Domoticz after one update in 2020 completely messed up my whole flat automation. Since then I am all for if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I already did one thesis on Domoticz years ago. Not gonna spend time for another just to get my thermostat running again.

Yes, this is purely rant from my side. I've created an account just for that despite using Domoticz since 2015.

[jvdz]

Bruh, if the Wiki says

Domoticz version Stable 2024.2 is the last version with OpenZwave (OZW) integration.

Could be that the Wiki isn't 100% up-to-date.

then i'm not even trying to mess up my perfectly running system. Great that @gizmocuz generously changed his mind in the meantime.
-snip-
Since then I am all for if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Same here... that came with age/experience for me, I only update when really needed and not because there's an updated PROD/BETA.

Great to see you running stuff in Docker and having the capability to check things right away. I instead am just a regular guy, having Domoticz running directly on RPi and Raspbian for years now. Stopped updating Domoticz after one update in 2020 completely messed up my whole flat automation.
I already did one thesis on Domoticz years ago. Not gonna spend time for another just to get my thermostat running again.
Yes, this is purely rant from my side. I've created an account just for that despite using Domoticz since 2015.

I am not running the production Domoticz in Docker, but on a simple PI3b for years now too.
Docker is running on my Laptop, and that is what I use to test this stuff first before upgrading. That is a simple/safe way to have a play first.
... now sorry for being that smart ass in my last post, but thought it deserved some smart remarks the way you wrote it.

In case you do not have any means of doing some testing, you can always simply copy the whole current domoticz subdirectory into another name, perform the upgrade to the latest Beta to see if that works. In case of issues, you simply only have to rename the current domoticz directory to something else and rename the made copy directory back to domoticz, and you are in business again. This is what I always do when I do an upgrade.

[waltervl]

Wiki on OZW has been fixed now, thank you for your friendly reminder.
Note that OZW thermostat setpoints device do not work in latest (and future) stable releases.

[akamming]

Since then I am all for if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

But in this case it is broke: openzwave is no longer maintained. And not updating is not always an option. There might be a future security bug which forces you to opgrade, and then you are screwed.

It's great that within domoticz you can still use it, but that's just for users to give them more time to migrate to the new version.

About you rant: Grass will always look greener in your neighbours yard, but in this case HA will not solve your issue:
- Domoticz still supports openzwave. HA does not support it, so you are better off with domoticz if you don't want to change anything in your setup.
- If you do want you will have the exact same upgrade path: You will need to get all devices working under Zwave JS Ui before it will also work in HA.
- So it is actually the other way around if you want to move to HA, it's best to migrate your openzwave to Zwave JS UI with MQTT first to get an easier upgrade path, cause then you can create a hybrid situation in which you can control the devices both from Domoticz and HA, so you don't have to migrate all your automations and scripts at once

Personally i took the Zwave JS UI migration as an opportunity to create a best of both worlds setup: Both are great communities with their own strenghts and weaknesses and now i don't have to choose .

[lost]

openzwave is no longer maintained....
It's great that within domoticz you can still use it, but that's just for users to give them more time to migrate to the new version.

Looking at the market/what you can shop for, IMO ZWave is dying & Zigbee took the wind, despite better interoperability for Zwave & most recent evolutions like LR (but does it make sense for home automation, already meshed, to compete with P2P Lora ranges?).

Even if OZW is no more maintained, that's a library to basically handle a serial-usb driven radio controller: Nothing in HW handling would prevent keeping current integration for the foreseable future. OK, this may not handle new devices (most could be, not using newest command classes & just adding the XML description file!)/controllers (I bought a spare before they sold-out, as this was my SPOF for costly peripherals that I plan to keep until they die), but for legacy devices this just does the job.

On my side, all additions now go for zigbee & I don't want to handle the mess of moving to labyrinthine zwavejs stuff. Also have at least 1 device that is not handled (Qubino Smart-Meter) by the new heavy SW pile (JS chosen as a language to drive some hardware, seriously? Excellent solution to have many dependencies issues, so having to add containers to make the whole stuff accidentally working, with all the dependencies close-duplicates in "the Microsoft way": When bad design choices leads to overcomplex integration that'll go worst over time) & maybe another reference I have in 8 places in my home (to drive heaters).

So I'm glad OZW finally stayed in for legacy stuff, really!

[akamming]

openzwave is no longer maintained....
It's great that within domoticz you can still use it, but that's just for users to give them more time to migrate to the new version.

Looking at the market/what you can shop for, IMO ZWave is dying & Zigbee took the wind, despite better interoperability for Zwave & most recent evolutions like LR (but does it make sense for home automation, already meshed, to compete with P2P Lora ranges?).

Even if OZW is no more maintained, that's a library to basically handle a serial-usb driven radio controller: Nothing in HW handling would prevent keeping current integration for the foreseable future. OK, this may not handle new devices (most could be, not using newest command classes & just adding the XML description file!)/controllers (I bought a spare before they sold-out, as this was my SPOF for costly peripherals that I plan to keep until they die), but for legacy devices this just does the job.

On my side, all additions now go for zigbee & I don't want to handle the mess of moving to labyrinthine zwavejs stuff. Also have at least 1 device that is not handled (Qubino Smart-Meter) by the new heavy SW pile (JS chosen as a language to drive some hardware, seriously? Excellent solution to have many dependencies issues, so having to add containers to make the whole stuff accidentally working, with all the dependencies close-duplicates in "the Microsoft way": When bad design choices leads to overcomplex integration that'll go worst over time) & maybe another reference I have in 8 places in my home (to drive heaters).

So I'm glad OZW finally stayed in for legacy stuff, really!

What i'm talking about is that if for whatever reason the OZW library no longer compiles to newer platform libs not being backwards compatible, then it's the end of the OZW library. I see your point on Zwave vs Zigbee about the lifecycle (although it will be there long enough so i am not in a hurry yet), but not the complixity. if i'm correct (i am not a zigbee user, so not 100% sure) then Zigbee is also not natively integrated in domoticz, but requires additional plugins/software as well..

personally I am running Zwave JS UI in a docker, so no issue with the dependency issues you are mentioning..

moral of the story: every solution has it's pros and cons... There is not 1 size fits all here...

[lost]

I see your point on Zwave vs Zigbee about the lifecycle (although it will be there long enough so i am not in a hurry yet), but not the complixity. if i'm correct (i am not a zigbee user, so not 100% sure) then Zigbee is also not natively integrated in domoticz, but requires additional plugins/software as well..

At least, Zigbee can be managed by a single plugin (Zigbee for domoticz): Agree that's still an addition compared to embedded OZW, but much easier to setup/manage than needing MQTT and all that fits behind (with possible issues at every level), especially when everything is co-hosted in your system.

I'm not sure zwaveJS will remain for long as it is now (and as long as OZW), design choices were to progress quickly at the expense of dependencies maintenance more & more difficult over time (this would already be difficult without containerization), especially for us base users: That's web design guys choices whose 1st criteria is TTM & pushed by a company (Nabu-Casa) that probably have plans to cloudify all this... out of our homes... someday??! With this kind of strategy, these surprising design choices suddenly makes better sense!

[madpatrick]

Hi All,

I took the giant leap to switch from OZW to ZwaveJS
Took a lot of time/wprk to get all the device well named and replaced with the old devices
Looks all is well.

The only thing i've noticed is that after a restart of domoticz or ZwaveJS the reaction time in Domoticz for the switch is terrable.
When i press a switch On it reacts on the lamp directly, only in DOmoticz the switch is not update and i can not turn it Off. Makes sense because it think it is Off
After several (10-15) minutes the reaction time is back to "Normal"

Is this normal behaviouror is something not configured correctly?

[Siewert308SW]

Hi All,

I took the giant leap to switch from OZW to ZwaveJS
Took a lot of time/wprk to get all the device well named and replaced with the old devices
Looks all is well.

The only thing i've noticed is that after a restart of domoticz or ZwaveJS the reaction time in Domoticz for the switch is terrable.
When i press a switch On it reacts on the lamp directly, only in DOmoticz the switch is not update and i can not turn it Off. Makes sense because it think it is Off
After several (10-15) minutes the reaction time is back to "Normal"

Is this normal behaviouror is something not configured correctly?

Same here and totally normal.
Time depends on how many devices you have.
Over here 98 devices and it took 15min before everything was fully functional.
Is due to Domoticz which after every restart discovers all devices again.
What i did was the following:
I disabled every instance i don't need in de "Home Assistant" Tab under every device.
See wiki where it's mentioned.
Now after a restart every devices is rediscovered and functional within 3 minutes.

[madpatrick]

Thanks. Makes sense.
I was already wondering where al these devices were coming from and what the need is

Did you also remove the devicesin Domoticz or did you leave them unused?

[Siewert308SW]

Thanks. Makes sense.
I was already wondering where al these devices were coming from and what the need is

Did you also remove the devicesin Domoticz or did you leave them unused?

They way took the approach is as following.
I temporally disabled zwavejaui and broker.
Then i deleted all unwanted zwave devices in Domoticz and shutdown Domoticz afterwards.
Then i restarted zwavejsui and broker while Domoticz is still killed.
Then i disabled all unwanted devices in the "Home Assistant" tab for every node.
After that i deleted all retained messages in the broker with mqtt explorer.

[madpatrick]

After that i deleted all retained messages in the broker with mqtt explorer.

I'm a bit new to MQTT so i like to be sure.

Do you mean with deleting the retained messages these messages ?

2025-11-24 19_18_40-MQTT Explorer.png (9.07 KiB) Viewed 3840 times

Just push the yellow " retained" button ?

[madpatrick]

Hi,

I tried it but broke my Zwave.
Gladly i had a snapshot to restore to

Still struggling to disable the unescassery devices
But, must i check the items i want to disable and then click on "Disable Discovery"

2025-11-30 16_18_11-Greenshot.png (29.57 KiB) Viewed 3826 times

And do i then need to click on "Store"?

Appreciate your help

[user4563]

Just disable and store to save

[madpatrick]

I've set all config_switch and config_number of all devices to disabled and stored them
After restart all devices are still loaded in Domoticz

Where is it going wrong for me ?

[jvdz]

Where is it going wrong for me ?

Did you remove the old retained mqtt messages from mosquito?

[madpatrick]

No.
Must i clear all retained messages ?

2025-12-07 17_51_07-MQTT Explorer.png (6.92 KiB) Viewed 3798 times